Vow of Silence--- Wednesday
Nov. 17th First Bell to Last Bell of the School Day

Why November?

The Vow of Silence campaign is held in November
because 21 years ago, on November 20, 1989, the world was introduced to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention,
ratified by more countries than any other United Nations treaty, solidified the universal rights that every child in the world
should receive regardless of race, nationality or religion. These include the right to an education, health care and proper development, as well as protection from
exploitation and abuse. But after all this time we must ask ourselves: are the voices of children around the world being heard? Are their rights being upheld? The answer too often is no.

Stay silent on November 17th in solidarity
with children whose human rights are not being upheld. Show the world that we are not doing enough to protect the rights of
children.

Why are so many children
kept silent?

Some children are silenced by hunger, others
by lack of education. Some are forced to work as child labourers and are punished for speaking out against unsafe and unfair
work conditions.

Check out the facts below, and then take
some time to learn more about these issues. There are plenty of great resources online, including FreeTheChildren.com.

•121 million primary-school aged children are denied the opportunity to attend school. Most of these children are girls.

•218 million children around the world work as child labourers. More than half (126 million, to be exact) work in hazardous
conditions:

in mine fields, with chemicals and pesticides,
with explosives and with dangerous machinery.

•An estimated 300,000 boys and girls are exploited by armies during times of conflict when they areforced to act as
soldiers, sex slaves and servants.

•Every day, 28,000 children die from poverty-related causes.

The more educated you are, the more you can
teach others about these important issues and encourage them to get involved. Remember: